Complex software applications, such as the Database Management System (DBMS) known as Teradata™ by NCR Corporation, release periodic updates, patches and/or maintenance modules to resolve problems and provide enhanced functionality. Many systems automatically apply these updates without a full consideration of the costs and benefits of applying the update.
In some cases, new releases may introduce unwanted changes, which can cause a degradation in performance (a regression), or at worst, a destabilization of the system. For example, an update which changes the SQL language parser in a database application may render some existing SQL scripts unusable. This in turn may cause certain jobs to abort, resulting in delays and frustration for users.
Where regressions are introduced, users or support personnel have to follow the tedious process of reviewing release notes to determine update applicability to a specific environment. In addition users have to review known regression issues to decide if a particular update is relevant to their environment.